DR Congo: Death Toll From Second Ebola Outbreak Rises to 492

Insecurity is one factor which prevents the containment of Ebola in the provinces of North Kivu and Ituri.

The Ministry of Health of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) Friday estimated that there have been 492 deaths due to the recent Ebola outbreak that is affecting North Kivu and Ituri, two provinces in the northeast of the country.

In a report with figures up until Feb. 6, the authorities indicated that 438 deaths have been confirmed through laboratory tests and some 189 others are probable. Likewise, the total number of contagious cases is 791, of which 737 are confirmed and 54 are probable.

The control of the epidemic has been resented by both the refusal of some members of various communities to receive treatment and insecurity in the area, where numerous armed groups operate.

The Ministry of Health also warned about messages posted on social networks in which it was reported that some women had agreed to have sex in exchange for receiving a job in the campaign against Ebola.

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Joel Cholo Brooks is a Liberian journalist who previously worked for several international news outlets including the BBC African Service. He is the CEO of the Global News Network which publishes two local weeklies, The Star and The GNN-Liberia Newspapers. He is a member of the Press Union Of Liberia (PUL) since 1986, and several other international organizations of journalists, and is currently contributing to the South Africa Broadcasting Corporation as Liberia Correspondent.